Merced Mother Searches for Bone Marrow Match

August 1, 2009 12:00:00 AM PDT

Fresno, CA --

A Merced mother is hoping to find a marrow donor as she battles a rare bone marrow disease.Summer Vitelli was diagnosed with severe Aplastic Anemia in February, shortly after the birth of her first child. Her best chance for a cure is a bone marrow transplant, but she's been unable to find a donor, so her family held a bone marrow drive, hoping to find her match.

"There are six thousand people a day actively searching in the bank for a match that are in desperate need for a match. And their families are all over the country, doing drives too. So you know someone could come here today and be a match for someone else that's looking. And there could drive in Kansas today and my match could walk through the door," said Summer Vitelli.

Joining the marrow registry is as simple swabbing your mouth with a cotton swab. For 80 percent of matches, donating bone marrow is similar to donating blood; only 20 percent of matches have to actually go under anesthesia in order to donate.